COLT: Camera-Centric Lighting Toolset for Unreal Engine 5

COLT – Camera-Oriented Lighting Toolset for Unreal Engine

A fast, intuitive lighting workflow for cinematic lighting in UE5.

COLT (Camera-Oriented Lighting Toolset) is a Scriptable Tools Editor plugin for Unreal Engine that streamlines the lighting process by allowing users to dynamically spawn lights directly from the viewport or active camera. Designed for real-time cinematic lighting, COLT provides an intuitive way to place and control lights based on scene geometry with rapid iteration tools and flexible customisation.

Key Features

• Camera-Oriented Lighting Placement – Spawn lights at any point on a mesh surface using viewport or camera-based tracing.
• Surface Normal & Specular Highlight Modes – Choose between placing lights aligned to the surface normal or positioning them for optimal specular reflection.
• Support for Static & Skeletal Meshes – Works seamlessly with both static and deforming geometry.
• Active Sequencer Integration – Lights can be spawned directly into an open Sequencer level for shot-specific lighting setups.
• Dynamic Light Type Switching – Easily cycle between Spot, Point, and Rect Lights, retaining key parameters.
• Precision Controls – Adjust light intensity, attenuation, color, source size, and distance from the hit point dynamically.
• Distance-Based Intensity Normalisation – Ensures consistent lighting behavior regardless of placement distance.
• Mouse & Keyboard Shortcuts – Fine-tune parameters like intensity, attenuation, and distance with quick mouse drags while holding modifier keys.
• Customizable Defaults – Modify light property defaults via the st_colt_property_set asset to match your preferred settings.
• Debug Visualizations & Clean Workflow – Toggle visual debug guides for precise placement or a clean viewport experience.

Requirements & Compatibility

• Unreal Engine Version: 5.5.3+ (Compatible with 5.2+ but some features may be experimental in earlier versions).
• Plugins Required: Scriptable Tools Editor Mode (Enable in Plugins menu).
• Collision-Based Tracing: Works best with properly configured Visibility Collision settings on static and skeletal meshes.
• Limitations: Currently does not support Geometry Caches/Alembic due to collision limitations (future expansion planned).

Installation & Setup

1. Migrate the EditorScriptableTools folder to your project’s Content directory.
2. Enable the Scriptable Tools Editor Mode plugin and restart Unreal Engine.
3. Open the COLT toolset from the Editor Mode dropdown.
4. Start placing lights directly in your scene!

Why Use COLT?

COLT is designed for lighting artists, cinematics teams, and Unreal Engine users who need a fast, flexible, and camera-driven workflow for shot lighting and asset illumination. Whether you’re working on linear content, cinematics, look dev or environment lighting, COLT allows for precise, rapid iteration without breaking creative flow.

Future updates and feature expansions will be based on user feedback!

Thanks so much to Isaac Pringle (

https://lnkd.in/eA7eqJfX) for letting me use one of his amazing sculpts to showcase the tool.